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News

Walters ribbon cutting will formally open first of five middle school
conversions, signature projects of the Measure E Bond

Posted 8/14/19

When the shiny red ribbon is formally cut at Walters Middle School, it will be a huge milestone for Fremont Unified School District (FUSD), representing the first of the District’s five junior high schools to be converted to middle schools over the next several years. The transition to middle schools, which will have grades 6-8, is a signature undertaking of the $650 million Measure E Bond, passed in 2014.

The Walters ribbon cutting ceremony is set for 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 39600 Logan Drive in Fremont, CA 94538. Refreshments will be provided through the generosity of the District’s construction partners. Tours of the new facility will follow the ceremony.

“We are very excited to showcase Walters as the first of five state-of-the-art district middle schools, which also features a 21st-Century learning environment,” said Dr. Kim Wallace, Superintendent. “This reconfiguration will support the District’s continual growth by freeing up space at the elementary schools, offer instructional and cultural benefits to students and the community, and align grade levels to state standards.”

Ultimately, all sixth-graders will move from each of District’s 28 elementary schools to these new middle schools. This upcoming school year, all of the elementary schools in the Kennedy attendance area, which feeds Walters Middle School, will be grades K-5. In preparation for this conversion, there was extensive planning to ensure a smooth transition at both the elementary and junior high schools. A Middle School Instructional Task Force was formed in 2015 and met over the course of two years to design the instructional program to optimize the integration of sixth-grade students.

Walters has been busy as the pilot middle school in the conversion process, with counselors visiting all elementary feeder sites, hosting parent nights and an open house for incoming families. One of the themes of the transition is to foster innovative teaching and learning with “flex” spaces, areas that house large numbers of students and provide technology to spark creativity and innovation.

The project cost for the modernization and new construction at Walters is $40.8 million. With 22 new classrooms to accommodate 600 additional students, the increased student capacity is now 1,460. Students will start the new school year on Aug. 28.

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On June 3, 2014, the voters of Fremont approved the $650 million Measure E general obligation bond initiative. The scope of the bond work includes upgrading and repairing neighborhood schools by updating technology and aging classrooms; upgrading electrical wiring to current safety codes; fixing or replacing leaky roofs, aging plumbing and restrooms; removing asbestos; and repairing, constructing and acquiring equipment, classrooms, sites and facilities. Sign up for Measure E News!